As more and more “smart” devices are being developed, the need to interconnect them grows. The so-called “Internet of Things” (IoT) is an environment in which objects (even including, but not limited to, animals or people) are given unique identifiers and are able to transfer data over a network, with or without interaction. This concept has evolved from technologies such as wireless communications, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and the Internet. In recent years, the IoT has exploded, with sensors and basic control systems constituting a large portion of the market. The IoT technical space has rapidly grown, with already hundreds of competing standards, technologies, and platforms. However, key considerations have not always been taken into account. For example, as IoT networks grow, so do security threats. In addition, with the rapid growth of the market, it is difficult to predict all future needs and requirements. Of the existing IoT platforms available currently, some may offer varying levels of security and extensibility, but many, if not all, of these require a high level of programming knowledge to build and compile software from scratch or require the use of limited software development kits (SDKs) that may not even be in a language familiar to many developers.
In the drawings, the leftmost digit(s) of a reference number may identify the drawing in which the reference number first appears.